The specialist magazine Rondo described her as “probably the most successful German cellist of the moment” in 2021.
In 2023, the award-winning young cellist Raphaela Gromes caused a stir with her album “Femmes” (“Women”). On this CD she plays music by 23 composers; The recording was made in close collaboration with the Woman and Music Archive in Frankfurt and with other partners.
We are very pleased and it is an honor to now welcome Raphaela Gromes. The likeable musician will play two entertaining works for cello and orchestra with the Hof Symphony Orchestra.

The director is Catherine Larsen-Maguire, an experienced orchestra musician. She worked as solo bassoonist at the Komische Oper in Berlin for ten years. Since 2012 she has focused entirely on her career as a conductor. She has now been Music Director of the National Youth Orchestra of Scotland for three years; She also makes guest appearances with numerous European orchestras.

We open this program with the Poème for cello and orchestra by Henriëtte Bosmans, a Dutchwoman whose father was principal cellist at the Concertgebouw Orchestra in Amsterdam; when he died in 1896, his daughter was still a baby. She received her first piano lessons from her mother, who taught piano at the conservatory. In later years she gave regular concerts with the Concertgebouw Orchestra. This orchestra valued her very much and performed her works.

During the Second World War, Henriëtte Bosmans was severely restricted in her professional activities because of her Jewish origins, but she continued to give house concerts illegally, which was very risky. She died in 1952.

Unlike Bosmans’ almost scene-like catchy Poème, Tchaikovsky’s Rococo Variations have been firmly anchored in the cello repertoire for many decades: the beautiful sounding theme is a real delight, and of the variations one is basically more beautiful than the other. It also becomes virtuoso, especially towards the end.

Robert Schumann’s “Spring Symphony” was written in 1841, the year after Schumann’s wedding to his beloved Clara Wieck, herself a highly successful pianist and still a popular composer today.
Schumann’s symphony would probably not have been filled with the same exhilaration if Clara and he had not finally been able to prevail (in court!) against his father-in-law Wieck, who had long spoken out strictly against the two of them marrying.

Presented by REHAU Industries SE & Co. KG

Program:

Henriëtte Bosman‘s Poème for cello and orchestra 

Pyotr I. Tchaikovsky Variations on a Rococo Theme op. 33 

Robert Schumann Symphony No. 1 in B major op. 38 “Spring Symphony”